Hytera America Donates Radios to Mercy to Fight the COVID-19 Pandemic in St. Louis

Hytera America, in partnership with Warner Communications, has donated PD782i DMR radios to Mercy Hospital St. Louis to help provide testing and save lives during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Mercy health system was founded by the Sisters of Mercy in 1986. Today, Mercy includes more than 40 acute care, managed and specialty hospitals, 900 physician practices, and outpatient facilities, and 2,400 Mercy Clinic physicians in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma. Mercy also has clinics, outpatient services, and outreach ministries in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas.

Mercy Hospital St. Louis was the first organization in the state to offer drive-through testing. Mercy was also the first hospital in the state to have a patient test positive for COVID-19, followed by an influx of symptomatic patients. The challenge was to prevent strain in the Emergency room and to isolate infected patients. Andrew Blevin, Mercy’s Regional Director for Emergency Preparedness, helped expand the testing facilities and establish respiratory care clinics to provide intermediate patient care, prevent exposure risk, and reduce the pressure on the area’s emergency rooms. He also worked to develop the Mercy-wide policies and procedures, “Whole of Mercy Response to COVID-19.”

“The donated radios help us pre-screen drive-through testing appointments by coordinating between patients in line and the registration desk,” said Blevin, “The generous contribution from Hytera and Warner Communications also enables us to coordinate the different stations in the respiratory care clinics. Radio communication between admitting, x-ray, and the lab, helps us streamline patient care, reduce exposure risks, and ultimately save lives.”

“Radios are critical to effective hospital communications, particularly when moving quickly to shift resources, provide testing, open new facilities during this pandemic,” said Tom Wineland, Vice President of Sales at Hytera. “Hytera is dedicated to providing two-way radio solutions to the medical community that can be immediately added to existing radio networks to improve communications and address the overwhelming challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic.”